How could this be?
by Jayfire
Summary: Chiron tells Annabeth to try reading a book that isn't about architecture. So she decides she will. What she doesn't expect to find is a book about a twelve year-old half-blood. If you would like to know more, please read and review! ;
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I came up with this idea while showering... Not the most likely place, anyways. I hope you all enjoy it. Oh! If you find any errors, whether it be spelling, grammar or with the characters, please let me know. And for Miles, I'm sorry. I don't have the books with me right now and couldn't remember the names of any of my protagonist's siblings. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything! No matter how much I wish I did. Everything belongs to the epic author Rick Riordan. **

**Chapter one**

I woke up, early, and stretched. Sitting up, I yawned, tired, and shuddered at the thought of my nightmare. I couldn't remember it, only that it was terrifying. And for a demigod, like myself, terrifying nightmares often came true.

I sighed and got up. Worrying wouldn't stop anything from happening.

I made my bed, fluffed my pillow and straightened my books. Inspections this morning would be done by Silena Beauregard, which meant that everything had to be as neat and tidy as humanly- no as godly- possible.

Once I was satisfied that my bunk was cleaned to perfection, I opened the trunk that sat at the end of my bed and pulled out my regular, everyday attire: a pair of jeans, running shoes, an orange t-shirt that said 'Camp Half-Blood', my navy blue baseball cap, and, of course, my camp necklace and the celestial bronze dagger that I always had on me, only used for emergencies, of course.

I was just about to go into the washroom to change and do my morning human necessities, when one of my cabin mates, and brothers, called out to me.

"Yes?" I replied, sort of annoyed that he was stopping me from doing what I had to.

"Annabeth, I just wanted to remind you that you don't need your camp T-shirt today. You're going out with Argus to the bookstore today, remember?" my brother, Miles, said.

"Oh. Right. I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding, Miles." I said taking out one of my favorite non-camp shirts. I was just about to close the washroom door when I remembered something. "Oh, and Miles? Could you make sure the cabin's clean and ready for inspection? Silena's doing it today and I don't think anyone really wants to help with dishes or clean the stables." he nodded and assured me it would be spick-and-span by the time Silena came by.

I was standing at the top of half-blood hill, waiting for Argus to arrive and bring me into town so I could get some more architecture books. My backpack was slung over one shoulder, my cap tucked into my left pocket, blond hair tied in a ponytail and my knife strapped around my waist. Hidden from sight by my jacket of course.

"Annabeth, my child. I believe you should try a different book this time." I heard Chiron say as he trotted up the hill to see me off. As I was about to protest, he added "It's not that I don't believe they are educational, it's just that I believe you should just try reading a book that has adventure. Who knows, you just might like it."

Sighing, I shook my head and gave in. "Alright. If one catches my eye, I'll give it a try." he smiled and wished me luck.

The drive to the bookstore was quiet, as to be expected when the only other person in the camp's van was Argus. He never talked. Some said it was because he didn't know how. Others said it was because he had an eyeball on his tongue. Oh, yeah. That's something I forgot to mention. Argus has eyes all over his body. On his arms, back of his hands, neck, you name it.

When we did finally arrive at the store, he pointed at the clock build into the van then held up both hands, palms wide open. Then he opened and closed them three times.

"Be back in thirty minutes?" I asked, just to be sure. He nodded and handed me some mortal money. I smiled at him and got out of the car.

Walking up the three steps to the door, I kept reminding myself to find an adventure or fiction book. Otherwise Chiron would be disappointed. And Chiron disappointed was not something I wanted to see.

I walked through rows and rows of different books. None caught my eye. That is, until I accidentally bumped into one of the shelves. A book with a blue and green cover fell off of it. I bent to pick it up and gave the cover a closer look at the same time. It showed the back of a boy standing in gray wavy, water-the ocean? He had black hair and was wearing jeans and an orange T-shirt. In one of his hands, he held a bronze sword. And in the other, he held what looked like a horn. In front of him, was the skyline of Manhattan. With the Empire state building and all.

I decided it might be interesting, not fully registering what I had seen, and decided to read the title. If it sounded any good, I'd give it a try. With some difficulty, I was able to make out the words that formed the title: _'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'._

That decided it. I had to know what happened in the book. With the title and cover, it seemed like the main character, Percy Jackson, was somehow associated with the Olympian gods. Meaning he was most likely a half-blood. This meant that I was going to read this book, no matter how many headaches it took. I would finish it.

When I returned to camp, it was almost lunch time. First, I headed to the Great House to inform Chiron of my return. I was not, however, expecting Chiron to be in his magic wheel chair, packing his things.

"Chiron, what's going on? Mr. D isn't throwing you out, is he?" I asked him worriedly.

"Of course not, my child. Grover senses that one of the students at his school is a very powerful demigod. I am going to teach Latin there, merely to watch this young boy. And to decide when would be appropriate for him to come to camp. From now on, call me Mr. Brunner." he told me, chuckling at the last bit. He continued packing, sadly deciding to leave behind his music.

"I'll miss you." I told him honestly. 'I hope this kid's worth it.' I thought to myself as Chiron wheeled over to me.

"I'll miss you too, Annabeth. Don't worry, all will be fine." he hugged me goodbye and I hugged him back tighter. I had known Chiron for five years now, and he was like a father to me. I followed Argus out as he carried Chiron's bags. At the top of the hill, Chiron turned to look at me one last time.

"Who knows," he said "Young Percy Jackson just might be more important than we know." I blanched. Percy Jackson. The name of the main character of the book I had bought. I should have told Chiron. Should have warn him, but I was too shocked. So, all I did was wave and, I admit, cry a little with the rest of the kids who stayed at camp full time.

Silently, I swore to myself that I would start that book as soon as I could. It seemed, even though he wasn't even aware of who he was, Percy Jackson would be the cause of much trouble.

I had no idea of just how right I was.

**A/N: So! That's the first chapter. In the next one, Annabeth starts reading the book. She will read the entire series, though I'm not sure if it will be all in this story, or split into multiple stories. **

**For those who are reading my Warriors fanfiction, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I was at camp, and now I have a case of writers block, regarding that story. If you've got any ideas, please let me know. **

**Please, please, please review! I love to know your thoughts on the story and how I could improve it. :) **

**Jay~**

**P.S.: Check out my fictionpress stories! Just search for the author Jayfire. Chapter one of my original story coming soon! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter two! I hope you guys like it as much as the last chapter. I must say I am so happy with how much you guys seem to like this story so far. I think itb already has more followers and favorites than my other Fanfic…**

**Thanks so much to yaoyan, TheLightningThief234,** **WeirdButCool,** **Slayer6969, greekgodsaresupersuperawesom e (yes, yes they are ;D), Supergirl98, werewolf cub selene,** **Nessa919, newage416,** ** .Fan, xxtotally insanexx, Yuna1591, Eddie Potter and book lover reader for following this story. :)**

**Thank yous to book lover reader, Nessa919 and TheLighningThief234 for adding this to their favorite stories list. :D**

**Thanks to Anniriel and TheLighningThief234 for following me. :D:D **

**Thanks a bunch to WeirdButCool and TheLightningThief234 for adding me to your favorite authors list.**

**And thank you very much to WeirdButCool, greekgodsaresuperawesome, Pikachu087 and my anonymous reviewer for reviewing.**

**If I mentioned your name above, you are awesome! And the reason chapter two is even up! Love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Rick Riordan to you? I didn't think so… Drats :(**

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**Chapter Two**

As soon as my afternoon activities, which consisted of archery, ancient Greek, wrestling and sword-in my case knife-fighting, were over for the day and I had a bit of free-time before dinner, I went back into the Athena cabin.

As I entered, I gave a nod to my brother Malcolm-also my second in command-and walked quickly to my bunk. I pulled up the top of my wooden chest and took out the book I had bought earlier that same day.

I decided that I would read the summary on the back before I truly began the story about this so-called Percy Jackson.

**Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be-**

I stopped there. I already knew that Percy was a half-blood, mind you I didn't really want to believe it, but the start of the summary just confirmed my fears. He sure was causing a lot of trouble for someone who didn't even know who they were.

Sighing in impatience, I opened the book to chapter one. The title of the chapter surprised me:_ I ACCIDENTLY VAPORIZE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER_. Okay, so his math teacher was an evil monster. Most teachers were. But what bugged me was how did he vaporize his teacher without a weapon?

Shaking my head in annoyance, I continued reading the first page.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly when I read that first little bit. If only I'd known that when I was younger... But it was too late now. I already knew I was a demigod, and for now, I was safe. That was all that mattered.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

Oh, how true that was. Just look at all the half-bloods of myth and legend; very few have a happy ending.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

I just had to pause at that. There were kids out there that believed stuff like this-like the gods roaming the earth and their own teachers eating helpless, unsuspecting demigods for breakfast-was fiction. Just another story. Really? Maybe it was because I had grown up knowing that I was different, that Athena was my mother, but I found it hard to believe that there were people who didn't know that all this-everything in my life, in all the lives of demigods-was actually happening. I admit, I envied them too.

**But if recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Annabeth?" the sound of one of my siblings calling my name made me jump and drop my book. "Annabeth, I'm sorry to bother you but the conch horn for dinner just blew."

"It did? Oh. I didn't realize it... Thanks Miles." He nodded slightly and ran out of the cabin. I couldn't wait to get back and continue reading about the strange half-blood named Percy. And the events that hadn't happened yet.

For dinner that evening, we had a piece of steak-extra lean cut, of course- with grapes, bread, cheese and a rare treat: anything you wanted for dessert. We all got up-everyone at the same time, since there was only about fifteen of us still at camp, the year rounders- and scraped a portion of our meal into the flames. Then, we returned to our seats to enjoy our meal.

I whispered to my cup to give me raspberry lemonade to drink. It tasted good-just the way my father used to make it, back before he hated me.

As we were eating, we chatted amongst ourselves with the few cabin mates we had. Well, we chatted until Mr. D-otherwise known as Dionysus- cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Campers! Since today Chiron has left us-some nonsense about checking up on some kid named Peter Johnson- there will be no evening activities and no campfire tonight. As soon as dinner is over, you may return to your cabins. That is all." he said. There were many sighs of disappointment at his words, but I couldn't help but pleased. I could get back to my book that much sooner!

Malcolm, Miles and I finished up and then returned to our cabin. As soon as we got there, I headed over to my bunk, slid off my shoes and lifted my pillow to retrieve the book. I lay down on my back and continued reading from where I left off.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

**Yeah. You could say that****. **

I stopped reading for a second as I thought to myself "_No, not troubled. You're just a half-blood._" Of course, Percy didn't know that-hell, I doubt his human parent even knew that. You see, most parents have no idea that they ever had an affair with a god in the first place.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan-**

Ooh… So a demigod on a school trip Manhattan-the city and home of the gods in the present day- and he had no idea who he was… I'm sure this would end extremely well.

**-twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

**I know-it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

Mr. Brunner… That was the fake name Chiron was using while at the school to teach Percy. I couldn't help but find it funny that he was leading the trip to look at ancient Greek and Roman artifacts. Poor Percy, Chiron was likely to put him in the spotlight.

Then a thought occurred to me-this wasn't going to happen until May. I could send Chiron an Iris-message and tell him all about what would happen. Then he could return to camp sooner. And then my curiosity and desire to have all the facts before I told anyone got the best of me. I decided I had to at least finish his book-and possibly the entire series- before I told Chiron anything.

**Mr. Brunner was this middle aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman weapons and armor, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

For once? Now I wasn't just curious about the story, but Percy himself. I had a million questions buzzing through my head.

_What does he mean for once?_

_Could he be so powerful that he's already attracted the attention of many unwanted monsters?_

_Who is his godly parent?_

And most important, _who is Percy Jackson, really?_

There was only one way to find out: to continue reading.

**Boy, was I wrong.**

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyways.**

"Hahaha!" I laughed out loud. He hit a school bus with a cannon? What an idiot! I knew then, at that moment, that he was not a child of Athena. We were smarter than that.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that… Well, you get the idea.**

**This trip I was determined to be good. **

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

_(Random A/N, feel free to ignore. I thought they spelled ketchup as catsup in the USA? :S)_

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disorder in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

I laughed at Percy's little comment there. It was true, Grover loved enchiladas. Well, he loved the cheese ones anyways. He was a vegetarian-though Grover was known to occasionally eat soda cans and playing cards. But you can't blame him; he is half goat after all.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"**I'm going to kill her." I mumbled.**

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

"**That's it." **

I could tell, just by reading the short little bit that I had, that Percy had a fierce temper. I thought of all the gods that did and came up with five: Athena, Ares, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon.

I had already crossed Athena off because Percy was not the smartest kid. Athena was, after all, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Her kids, like me, were known for being smart. Zeus was off the list too, because he had sworn an oath not to have any kids and had already broken it once. Hades was off because Percy didn't have the right kind of grudge-holding attitude that the children of Hades were supposed to have.

That left Ares and Poseidon. Though Percy seemed too nice to be the Ares type, I sincerely hoped, for his sake, that Poseidon was not his father. That would be bad news.

**I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"**You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens.**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

I wanted to continue reading, find out what was so bad about the trip, but I surprised myself by yawning. I looked at the big bronze clock we had in the Athena cabin and was surprised by how late it was. I looked around the room and found that both Miles and Malcolm were already fast asleep. I opened my wooden chest and grabbed my pajamas. I quickly went into the bathroom and changed, then brushed my teeth before heading to bed.

For a few minutes, I just lay there, wondering what could happen on Percy's school trip that ended worse than in-school suspension. I was still pondering that when sleep finally overcame me.

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**A/N: Another chapter done… Next chapter will be up soon, so keep your eyes open! ;) Oh! And before I forget, if anyone has any Fanfics they would like me to read or as a suggestion, just PM me or leave it in your review!**

**Thank you so much for sticking by me and see you soon with chapter three! :D**

**Love you guys and please review, favorite and follow! **

**Jay~**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Guys, I am so sorry for the late update. I promised some of you that I would update Monday, but obviously that didn't happen. Then I promised I would update Thursday night, but I kinda fell asleep typing last night :3 I woke up this morning and my screen said something like ghfvghgfgfggfvgbvvbgfbgnhdnd fhnhfdhhdfffgdfgfgg…. :$ Ooops. **

**Thanks goes out to **

**Merci ****à **

**Obrigado to**

**Dankjewel to **

**Disclaimer: Last I checked, I was a fourteen year-old girl, not Rick Riordan. Sigh, I really wish I owned the Percy Jackson series, but obviously I don't **

**Chapter Three**

I woke up early the next morning, just so that I could at least finish my chapter before we had to clean the cabin and go to breakfast.

Yawning, I sat up and stretched. I got out of bed and made sure my siblings were still asleep. They were. I quickly yanked off my pajamas and pulled on my camp clothes. I left my knife and cap on the chest and made my bed. I grabbed the book, sat down and began to read where I left off.

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue**.

Gee, that sure sounded like fun. Nothing better than watching people walking through the city on a sunny day.

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. **

Scratch that-rainy and cloudy day. Zeus must be mad if he was causing a storm that bad.

**I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. **

Yeah, Zeus was definitely very, _very_ mad about something. If just I could figure out what though. The mystery would be bugging me until I figured it out. _Just keep reading_, I reminded myself.

**We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in**.

I wouldn't have been surprised either. It sure sounded like Zeus and Poseidon were fighting, again.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing. **

Monster, I thought. There was absolutely no way she was human. No wonder Grover had alerted Chiron.

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that**_** school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere. **

I sighed in pity for the boy. Even though I had never actually me him, and he was the cause of so many problems in the future, I found myself sympathizing with him. I understood what he meant about feeling like a loser and a freak. I'd been there.

**"Detention?" Grover asked. **

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean-I'm not a genius."**

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

I burst out laughing. That was so typically Grover. I shook my head and, still smiling, continued reading.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

I found that odd. A guy without an appetite? Really? The huge appetite of a teenage boy was one thing that was the same for a demigod and mortal, it was strange that Percy was different.

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home.**

Wait… What? Did he just say he _wanted _to head home? For some reason, probably the fact that Luke and I never wanted to see our own homes again, I had trouble wrapping my insanely smart head around that. I just couldn't picture any half-blood in their right mind wanting to go home. This kid was weird, I'll say that.

**She'd hug me and be glad to see me-**

Another idea that was foreign to me. His mother must have no idea about his parentage, I mean on the godly side anyways.

**-but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to get kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

Aww. How sweet! Percy cared about his mother and her opinions. Now, how many boys did that? In fact, most teenagers, boy and girl, didn't care about stuff like that.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized caf****é table.**

I smiled at that. This idiot kid sure had an interesting view of the world. I would never have come up with Mr. Brunner resembling a café table.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends-I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourist-and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

_Di immortales! _If Percy didn't kill this girl, I would. No one picked on my friends and got away with it. _No one._

"**Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if someone had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos. **

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

A wave? Seriously? This kid, whom I was seriously starting to like-as a possible friend, nothing more-just had to end up being a son of Poseidon? For one thing, this kid was in for some serious problems. When Zeus and Hades found out… Second, Poseidon and my mom kind of hated each other. Well, so much for that possible friendship.

_You never know, _said a voice in the back of my head, _he might not be a child of Poseidon. It could just be a figure of speech, like a wave of anger. Besides, he is not Big Three material._ My inner voice was right. This stupid, idiotic kid could not be a child of the lord of the sea. There was no way.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

Ha! She deserved it for being so vile. Good for Percy.

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

Never mind. This was bad for Percy, very bad.

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"**

"**-the water-"**

"**-like it grabbed her-"**

Oh, never mind. He was, quite obviously, sea spawn. Damn. And then I remembered the monster. Oh gods, this was not good. He didn't know a single thing about monster fighting, plus he was a child of the Big Three, there was a very slim chance he'd make it through this. I just hope for his sake the monster isn't that bad and that Chiron notices before anything goes wrong.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

_You bet you are. You are in so-o-o much trouble right now, _I couldn't help but think towards the boy.

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester.**

Oh, no. She knows exactly who and what he is. Poor Percy, he doesn't stand a chance. She would tear him to shreds-literally.

"**Now, honey-"**

"**I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"**Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

"**Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. **_**I **_**pushed her."**

Sometimes, Grover was so brave. He knew what that teacher was, he knew what she would do to him and yet he still offered to go instead of Percy. He had to be the bravest satyr in the world.

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

"**I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

"**But-"**

"**You-**_**will**_**-stay-here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

"**It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

"**Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "**_**Now**_**."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked at me.**

I swear, if I ever meet this Nancy girl, I would punch her in the face just for being such a prick.

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the stairs, gesturing impatiently for me to hurry up.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

I answered him in my head. Well, you see she's a monster and can move super quickly. That's how she got there so fast.

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the black place behind it. The school counselor told me it was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

I sighed. If only the mortals knew that they were the ones missing things, not the other way around.

**I wasn't so sure.**

So the kid did have at least half a brain.

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

Jeez, Chiron. When you're at a school to watch over a kid, you have to actually _watch_ them.

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

Obviously! She wanted to kill and then possibly eat you! Run away from her!

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

Not good, not at all good. She was going to attack him now.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would have been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she was looking at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it…**

In all honesty, she most certainly did want to pulverize it.

"**You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing.**

For once, I added mentally.

**I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

Oh she will. She'll enjoy doing it too.

**I said "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

"**We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we figured you out. Confess and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

I didn't either. And that was something I had to know soon or I would go crazy.

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"**Well?" she demanded.**

"**Ma'am, I don't…"**

"**Your time is up," she hissed.**

Oh gods, Percy was so dead. How was he going to survive this? Where was Chiron when you needed him?

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

_Di immortales! _Percy was being attacked by a Fury. A _Fury! _So, apparently Zeus wasn't the only god who was angry. Apparently, Lord Hades was mad, too. This was not good, not good at all. Percy was doomed.

**Then things got even stranger.**

How could things get any stranger? I mean, he just saw his math teacher turn into a hag with wings. As far as I knew, nothing was weirder than that.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

"**What ho, Percy!" he shouted and tossed the pen through the air.**

Oh, that's how it got stranger. Chiron showed up and tossed Percy the pen. This would mean that Chiron just tossed Percy his sword, Anaklusmos, and he was no longer powerless. There was hope for this young demigod yet.

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword-Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament days.**

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands shook so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

**And she flew straight at me.**

Never mind my earlier statement. Percy was definitely dead.

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

I stared at the book, absolutely shocked. For most half-bloods, swinging a sword didn't come naturally until they had years and years of practice. Maybe Percy did stand a chance of making it to camp in one piece.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hiss!**_

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporize on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

Oh, they probably were still watching you, I thought towards the boy. She just wasn't in the mortal world anymore; she was back in the Underworld. But she'd be back eventually.

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

Poor Percy. It must be hard not knowing who you are. I felt pity and sympathy towards the demigod that I was reading about. It must be hard not knowing who you really were.

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

Nope. That was definitely real.

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

Who? I don't remember a Mrs. Kerr being mentioned anywhere in the book.

**I said, "Who?"**

Oh that's just great. I think like a seaweed brain, I pouted.

"**Our **_**teacher. **_**Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned her eyes.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

I sighed, shaking my head. Trust Grover to blow his cover. That satyr never changed, I smiled.

"**Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

**I saw Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

That was a good idea. If he talked to Chiron, he might just find out the truth and be taking to Camp Half-Blood.

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

"**Sir," I said, "Where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"**The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

I smiled. Now _that_ is how you lie. There was no way Percy wouldn't be able to believe them.

It was the end of the first chapter, so I turned the page and started the second chapter.

The title read "Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death." Interesting chapter name. I wondered what it meant. It couldn't be that Percy saw the fates, could it? No, that wasn't it.

**I was used to the-**

The sound of either Miles or Malcolm stirring had me scrambling up and off my bed. I jumped over to the foot of my bed, where my wooden chest was, book still in hand, and lifted my knife and baseball cap off the lid. I opened the chest, shuffled aside some of my clothes and buried my book under them. I lowered the hand that held my bronze knife and hat into the chest to make it look like I was just taking them out.

"Morning, Annabeth." Miles said sleepily. I pulled my hand out and shut the lid. Looking around my cabin, I saw Miles sitting up on his bed. Yawning, he stood unsteadily and stumbled. He caught himself on Malcolm's foot.

Quick as lightning, Malcolm jumped up and had Miles pinned to the wall in a second. I couldn't help it, I laughed. It was a welcome change after reading the rest of the first chapter of my book.

"Come on guys," I said. "Let's get this cabin cleaned up and get ready for breakfast." They nodded and got their clothing out of their chests. While they changed, I put my hat in my pocket and strapped my knife around my waist. Then, I straightened the rumpled sheets of my bed and started rearranging the books on the shelves and the papers strewn across the desks. Miles came over and picked up the garbage from the floor. Malcolm grabbed the broom and started sweeping the floor.

With the three of us working together, we soon finished and were ready to start the day.

I would continue reading later. Probably in my free time just before lunch.

**A/N: And there you have it! Chapter three is complete! Thank you so much for reading guys! **

**Jay~**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Oh my gods guys! I am so sorry. I had a bit of internet issues :3 To be exact, I didn't have internet. Anywho, here is chapter four. I hope it was worth the wait!**_

_**Disclaimer: I am a fifteen year-old Canadian **__**girl**__**, which obviously means I am not Rick Riordan.**_

* * *

**Chapter Four**

You know that feeling when you are really excited about something, and time seems to pass extremely slow? Yeah, I had that feeling all morning long. It sucked. Normally, I enjoyed pegasi flying, wall climbing, pottery and mythology classes, but today was different. Today, they dragged on and on and _on,_ for what felt like five hours each – though the classes were only forty-five minutes each. By the time they were over, I was practically bouncing up and down; I wanted to get back to my cabin to read so bad. As soon as the satyr standing in for Chiron signaled that we could leave, I was up and out the door in three seconds flat. Another five and I was rifling through my chest to find my book.

That was it under the socks, wasn't it? Yes!

I sat on my bed and quickly opened my book up to chapter two.

_**THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH**_

Oh gods. No, this couldn't be. Percy couldn't possibly meet the fates at the second chapter. There was still like three hundred pages in the book, he couldn't die this close to the start.

_Well he could. Then the rest of the book could be his ghost walking the earth for all eternity, searching for the lightning thief._ The pessimistic side of my brain said. _I'll just have to read to find out._

And so, with a shaky breath, I started the second chapter.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. **

What twenty-four/seven hallucination? I don't remember Percy having any hallucinations. Mmm… I'll just have to read to find out, I guess.

**For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr – a perky blonde women whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on the bus at the end of the field trip – hap been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas. **

Ah. That would explain everything. The whole school – save Percy, Grover and Chiron – would be under the influence of the Mist. It most definitely was a powerful thing.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

**It got so I almost believed them – Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

**Almost.**

Grover, Grover, Grover. He always was the worst liar in the history of the world – and that's a fact.

**But Grover –**

Ha! I knew it!

**- couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

**Something was going on. Something **_**had**_** happened at the museum.**

No, really? Because I'm sure Percy has such a _great_ imagination. Yeah, right. Gods, Percy was such a Seaweed Brain.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at nights, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

I shivered just thinking about that. After all, I had seen one of my best friends get attacked by all three of the fur – I mean, Kindly Ones. Five years later and I _still _had nightmares about it. I could relate.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. **

Wow, Zeus must not like the kid. That or Percy just has really bad luck. But whatever it was, Zeus was _sooo_ mad. I actually felt sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of that anger – unless it was Poseidon, of course.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year. **

Oh, so _that's _who Zeus was mad at. Of course! Stupid, stupid Annabeth. How did I not see this? Poseidon had a son; _obviously_ Zeus would be mad at him. But then why would the Lord of the Sea be mad at Zeus? This was truly a troubling situation.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

WHAT?! How could someone's grades be so bad? I mean sure, I was a daughter of Athena and sure, Percy had ADHD and dyslexia, but still. His grades should at least be Cs, otherwise, how would he survive the monster attacks? I shook my head, he was definitely going to need someone smart (wink, wink) to keep him alive. Maybe, just maybe, when Grover and Chiron brought him to camp, I could finally go on a quest…

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent into the hallway in almost every class. **

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot.**

"Hahaha!" I laughed. That was one of the best insults I'd ever heard. Still snickering, I continued reading.

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

What did it mean again? Old drunk? Oh, well. It did sound really good.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

Man, that's got to suck, imagine how disappointed his mom will be… If I were Percy, I would not be going home if I where him.

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

You know you're homesick when you'd be willing to go home even though you had to put up with stuff like that. Poor Percy.

**And yet…there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

Wow, who knew sea spawn could be so loyal and caring about his friends? I, for one, had no idea that it was possible. Apparently, there were some things even Athena didn't know – or refused to share.

_No, I can't think like that. I can't go against my mother's beliefs._

**I'd miss Latin class, too – Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

How could he study for just one test? Especially Latin – Chiron always made that test super easy. It was impossible to fail.

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

Oh, so that's why he was only studying for his Latin test. Don't tell anyone I thought this, but that was actually pretty smart for a Seaweed Brain. Maybe Percy was more like his mom than his dad?

"Annabeth! Annabeth, where are you?" I heard a girl yell. I glanced up from the book to see that it was noon. Just then, Amali Attah, one of the unclaimed kids in the Hermes' cabin, came in. "Oh, there you are Annabeth. I was getting worried; everyone else was getting ready to eat."

"Oh. Sorry Amali, I just lost track of time." I told her, smiling sheepishly. Amali had come to camp in April, just after her mother had gone to Hades the hard way. I put my book down and followed her back to the dining pavilion.

~#~#~#~#~#~#~

After lunch, I was supposed to teach Ancient Greek to the Hermes cabin, but Mr. D declared afternoon activities as cancelled. Why? Nobody knew. It was unnerving to say the least. I was, however happy that I could return to my reading a few hours early.

Now where was I again? Something about only studying for a Latin exam? Oh, right!

**The evening before my final I got so frustrated threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. **

_I feel ya bro, _I thought towards the boy I was reading about. I mean, I struggled with dyslexia too. It was the reason I was only on the second chapter after two days of reading it for hours. If I wasn't dyslexic, I'd probably be halfway through the book already. I sighed; thinking about it wasn't going to change anything.

**There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon – **

Okay, I know his head was filled with kelp but still. The difference was so _obvious_ it was painful. Chiron was – _is_ – the greatest teacher of heroes ever, while Charon was the ferryman to the land of the dead. Who didn't know that?

**- or Polydictes and Polydeuces. **

This one was more understandable. Only Athena's children and a few other people in the world would know the difference. For those of you out there that do want to know, Polydictes was the king of Seriphos. And Polydeuces was the long form of Pollux, Castor's twin brother.

**And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

I thought about that last part while shuddering. That, I had to agree was terrible.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will only accept the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

No pressure, right? I laughed; it was just like Chiron to say something like that.

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers.**

Rant on and on about the difference between himself and Charon is more like it. And then he would get a really sad look in his eyes and start talking about one of the heroes of old that he had trained. Poor Percy, he would never get the help he needed for Latin at this rate.

**At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy with him thinking I hadn't tried. **

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them had were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "…worried about Percy, sir."**

That must have been awkward. Walking down the hallway to ask your teacher for help and hearing your best friend talking to them about nothing less than _you_. Ouch, that must have been like a slap in the face for Percy.

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

**I inched closer.**

If I were to be honest, I would have done that too.

"…**alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! Now that we know for sure, and **_**they**_** know too –"**

Nice Grover, real nice. Way to keep it positive, I thought sarcastically. That satyr was a pessimist if I ever knew one.

"**We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more." **

"**But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line –"**

Hmmm what dead-line? As far as I knew, there was no dead-line set for then. At least, there wasn't one yet.

"**Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

"**Sir, he **_**saw**_** her…"**

"**His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

Thinking about it, I realized Chiron was right; the Mist _would _be enough to convince Percy – if Grover wasn't such a terrible liar.

"**Sir I…I can't fail in my duties again."**

I closed my eyes in sadness when I read that. Just because it had been five years since the incident didn't mean it didn't hurt when I thought about that day – the day I lost one of my closest friends. Sighing, I looked back at the book and continued reading.

**Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean." **

"**You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was.**

I smiled thinking about how much Chiron had changed spending the year at Yancy. Normally, he would never, _never_ be that sensitive.

**Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall – " **

Never mind. Chiron hasn't changed at all.

Suddenly, I remembered that Percy was hearing all of this… Gods, that must have scared him halfway to Hades.

**The mythology textbook dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

Just pick it up and pretend you never dropped, I thought towards Percy in my head.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

Oh, right. For a second I forgot about Chiron's radar ears. Of course he would have heard the book drop. Oh, well. Maybe he'll see Percy and decide it is time for Percy to go to camp.

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

Sure. Just back away from the only person that can keep you alive.

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

My jaw quite literally hit the floor. How could Chiron do something so risky? I understand that he's agitated and being in centaur form would be fine, but having his bow out? That was stupid.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

Poor Percy. He must have been scared out of his wits.

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck**.

See? What'd I say – think – whatever.

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice. "**

Winter solstice? What could have happened there? Maybe it had something to do with the title of the book…?

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..." **

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow." **

**"Don't remind me."**

I grimaced slightly, thinking about how Grover had to endure exams over, and over, _and over_. Even though I was a daughter of Athena, I hated mortal exams. They were murder on dyslexic eyes.

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.** **I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.** **Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.** **"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"** **I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"** **"Just...tired."** **I turned so he couldn't read my expression,**

I sniggered slightly and shook my head. That wouldn't work one tiny bit. Grover was a satyr, which meant he could read emotions, so he must have known the Seaweed Brain wasn't "Just tired."

**and started getting ready for bed. I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

_Unfortunately, Percy, you didn't imagine anything_, I couldn't help but think, remembering all the terrible things I'd seen and felt over the years. They were definitely real, I couldn't imagine something so complex and – and tragic.

I had to shake my head to get rid of the sound of Thalia's dying scream from my mind.

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

Of course they thought that – you're a demigod, which means you're always in some kind of danger.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

Oh no, he must have figured out Percy had been eavesdropping!

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.** **"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

Apparently, I thought wrong.

I reread the last line to make sure I hadn't read it wrong, and realised something; Chiron had absolutely no tact. I would have to ask someone from the Aphrodite cabin to teach him – they were the best at being tactful, surprisingly.

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

I growled slightly when I read that part. If I ever met that girl, she would be begging for mercy before she could even say "Athena".

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

Oh, ouch. That sentence did _not_ come out right. I mean, I was just reading what was going to happen but even _I_ winced a bit at Chiron's statement. Percy would definitely take that the wrong way.

**My eyes stung. Here was my favourite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

Ha! I knew it! I still felt bad for him – only slightly though. He was after all the son of my mother's bitterest rival.

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

Good job Chiron, good job, I thought sarcastically. That just made Percy feel about ten times worse about himself.

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month.**

Wow, I thought. Cruising the Caribbean would be really fun, especially for Percy, considering who his father was.

**They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich **_**juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

My mouth actually hit the floor of the Athena cabin this time. A nobody – maybe. But he was definitely _not_ from a family of nobodies. The gods would have his head if they ever heard him Percy say that. If only he knew who, exactly his parents were…

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

Well, that was rude, I thought.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.**

Oh that wouldn't be good. The first day out of school and they got attacked… Percy didn't even have a weapon to attempt to defend himself! How he would make it to camp, I have no idea.

**Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

Poor Grover – that must have almost given him a heart attack.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "What—what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much **_**did **_**you hear?"**

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

Not much? More like the whole thing!

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers …"**

Demon math teachers? Only Grover would think of that as an excuse, I thought shaking my head fondly at the thought of the satyr.

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

That, my dear Seaweed Brain, would be an understatement.

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, **

Hmm, so Mr. D hadn't changed the design of the cards like we had suggested. He must like watching us _dyslexic_ demigods struggling to read them.

I rolled my eyes, obviously that was the case.

**but I finally made out something like:**

_**Grover Underwood**_

_**Keeper**_

_**Half-Blood Hill**_

_**Long Island, New York**_

_**(800)**_ _**009-0009**_

**"What's Half—"**

"Don't say it out loud!" I accidently said aloud.

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. **

I laughed at that. Who knew that a daughter of Athena would end up thinking like a goat?

**"That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

Well, he isn't _exactly_ as rich as the others. The Olympians were, technically not his family. And besides, they were at least fifty times as rich as the others at Yancy.

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or...or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

I glared at the book. Percy didn't have to be so mean about it. Grover was more capable than he looked.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

At least he realised that it wasn't the nicest thing he could have said.

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me.**_

_Well yeah, he does. That's kind of his job_, I thought distractedly.

**"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"**

Oh, nothing much. Just the blood thirstiest monsters that happened to pick up your scent the minute you left the secluded area where Yancy Academy was situated.

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

Ironic how that would happen a few seconds after Percy had asked his question.

**The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice**_**. **_**There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

I blanched. Those were obviously the Fates. This would not be good.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

They were looking at him?! How the Hades was he not dead? I mean, I didn't exactly know if he lived, but considering there was about three-hundred more pages to the book after this chapter, I was assuming he lived.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

_I'm sorry Grover, but they are, _I thought in the general direction of my friend.

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

Not funny, not funny at all, I thought. This was deadly – and I mean _deadly_ serious.

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

Weird, that's the second time I thought along the same lines as Grover.

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

I could practically hear Grover catch his breath. Wait, that was me. I was just as nervous as Grover, and yet I wasn't even there.

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

Grover, if the Fates want him to the yarn get cut, he _will_ see it – no matter what.

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip **_**across four lanes of traffic.**

I made the warding-off-evil symbol the Ancient Greeks had used – a three fingered claw over my heart and pushed outwards.

The snipping of the yarn could only mean one thing; Percy was going to die.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

I laughed a little shakily and breathlessly when I read that. Only a Seaweed Brain would think of that in the situation he was in.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

It was meant to be. Percy needed to see the cutting of the yarn.

**The passengers cheered.**

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

I'm sure I looked much the same. Malcolm and Miles would grow suspicious if they weren't paying attention to their books.

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

Nothing much, just the truth about who you are and the truth about the recent events you have witnessed.

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

I snorted. The Fates would be offended if they knew Percy had asked that. They weren't anything like Mrs. Dodds. They were much worse.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

Ten times as old as crossing yourself, to be exact.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

A very, very big deal. It is a matter of life and death.

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

I paled considerably as I thought of Grover's last assignment. It couldn't end up like the last. It just _couldn't_.

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me.**

If I hadn't been there when the last time happened, or if I had no clue as to what was going on around me at the moment I would definitely have been getting a little scared.

**"What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

Good, Percy needed to get to camp as soon as possible. He also needed to consult the Oracle.

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

I thought about it for a moment and decided it wasn't a superstition since it was the truth.

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

Nice catch, Percy. Apparently he did pay a slight bit of attention in Latin class.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

Ominous. Now Grover looking at someone like that would definitely be enough to make even _Clarisse_ nervous.

I put the book down and stood up. I was surprised to see that the clock in the corner of the room said it was nearing 3:30. It really took me that long to read a bit more than half a chapter? I had to start reading English more.

After stretching a few more times, I sat back on my bed and began chapter three.

* * *

_**A/N: So, that's it for this chapter. I will try to have the next one up soon :3 Please drop a review and see you hopefully by the end of the week ;)**_

_**Jay~**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys... Long time no see, right? Hehe, please don't come after me with pithcforks! **

**Anyways, the new chapter is here, and yes this was as fast as I could manage it. I'm sorry, but I have school and cadets and chores and other stuff going on, and sometimes it's hard to find the time to update. **

**Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed! Those review made me happy! :) **

**Also, I already have the ending to this multi-story fic planned out, as well as the sequel! Yes, there will be a short sequel after all the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books have been read by Annabeth. **

**Oh, and I recommend you all go watch the TV show _Merlin_, it's amazing and I have a plan to write a _Merlin_ Percy J. crossover, so you guys should watch it. You can watch it online for free at couchtuner . com (just remove the spaces). Also, you should read the Kane Chronicles and Harry Potter becuase I have crossovers planned for those as well.**

**Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form Rick Riordan, therefore I do NOT own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.**

* * *

I stretched for a few minutes before starting the third chapter.

**GROVER UNEXPECTIDLY LOSES HIS PANTS**

I had to read that sentence about five times before I managed to convince myself that it was the actual name of the chapter.

Then, I had a few questions, the most prominent being, _Why did Grover take his pants off?_

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

I almost screeched an indignant: "You _what!"_ before I remembered my other sibling were in the room.

I mean, even for a demigod whose head was filled with kelp, that was extremely stupid. If Percy made it to camp alive, I will be wondering how for the rest of my life.

**I know, I know. It was rude.**

You can bet on all the riches in Hades' realm it was rude!

**But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

Well, that was slightly more understandable, but that didn't change the fact that it was the stupidest thing Seaweed Brain could've done.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.**

**Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

_IDIOT!_ I mentally screamed to Percy in my head. Grover was supposed to be his protector. How could _the protector_ protect the demigod f he left?

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world,**

A mortal parent? The best person in the world? How was that possible?

―**which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

Even though I had no love for mortals, I had to admit this Sally Jackson had extremely bad luck―almost as bad as a half-blood.

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. **

Poseidon had visited him? I suddenly felt slightly jealous of Percy. After I'd been sent down from Olympus, my mother had not once seen me.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

Wow, Sally Jackson was certainly a smart woman. On the one hand she was lying; on the other she was telling the truth. Well, at least a small fraction of it.

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colours as a world-class jerk.**

**When I was young, I nick named him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like mouldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

Shuddering at the imagined smell, I had to sympathize with Percy. He certainly didn't have it as easy as I thought he did a few chapters back.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

I gasped slightly. That was it? No "welcome home, how have you been"? How rude! Hera would despise "Smelly Gabe", that was for sure.

**That was it. No **_**Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**_

I groaned. How could I—a child of the smartest goddess to ever walk the earth, think along the same lines as a Seaweed Brain?

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tusk less walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

Handsome? The mental image my mind came up with begged to differ. I don't think even Aphrodite could make _it_ look handsome.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting pay checks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course.**

**Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Did this mean Percy had been abused? If so, I guess my step-mom wasn't so bad… I mean, she never _really _hurt me.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change.**

How could someone as—as_ vile_ as Gabe be able to deduce that? Most people of average intellect wouldn't be able to figure that out, much less someone with the brain capacity of a sheep.

**Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

At least someone in that house had some morals.

**"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

I couldn't help it; I gagged. Disembowelling monsters in the arena? Sure, no problem. But two older guys passing gas? Disgusting!

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study."**

I snorted, receiving an odd look from Malcolm, who had just stepped through the door.

"Hey, Annabeth," he said. "What are you reading? You keep laughing and making odd faces, and to be honest, Miles and I are started to worry."

"Oh. Umm, it's just the book I bought the other day. It's called, ah, _Twilight_, and it's absolutely ridiculous," **(A/N Sorry Twilight Fans!) ** I quickly told him. I couldn't exactly tell him the truth; otherwise he would probably have the Apollo cabin examine me.

**He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

Oh, the sarcasm! Hermes' kids would be proud to call Percy a brother, well, if he wasn't a Sea Spawn that is.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds,** **o****r the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

Now that would be just the luck of a half-blood, wouldn't it?

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.**

Really? I had never known love from a mother, so that came as a shock to me. And I had to admit I was slightly jealous of Percy and his mom.

**Her eyes sparkle and change colour in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few grey streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad.**

**I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, liquorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

And at this point, the Stoll brothers, or should I say _bothers_ would most likely be salivating before promptly sneaking out of camp and robbing a candy shop.

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

I gritted my teeth. Sally Mrs. Jackson sounded so nice, and she was definitely the smartest mortal parent I had ever heard of, she didn't deserve to have that jerk bothering her. Not one woman did.

**I gritted my teeth.**

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

I had to stop reading for a solid five minutes after that part because I was too busy smacking myself in the head and saying, "Stupid Annabeth, stupid. Smarten up and stop thinking like Fish Breath!"

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself.**

**I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

**Until that trip to the museum...**

I wonder if he'd mention anything that had happened. He should, his mother, as smart as she was, most likely knew all about Camp and would take him there once he told her.

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

I sighed exasperatedly. At this rate, Percy would end up dying before his thirteenth birthday.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

"Well," I mumbled, "seeing who his father is, he will probably enjoy that trip."

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

**I wanted to punch him,**

I did too.

—**b****ut I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

I couldn't help it, as soon as I read that, I burst laughing. That was bribery at its finest! If Poseidon hadn't found Mrs. Jackson, I wouldn't have been surprised that Percy was a child of Hermes.

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week. **

Here, I laughed again. Percy's way of punishment was just so ridiculous that I couldn't help it.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

As I read those lines, a thought started prickling the back of my head. Could the reason Mrs. Jackson put up with Gabe be for Percy? Maybe…

My eyes widened as I realized it.

His _smell_! It must be so foul that it hides Percy's scent from monsters.

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

_Tiny_ might be an overstatement. I would have said microscopic, or maybe even non-existent.

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

She definitely was the smartest mortal to ever walk the earth. I wonder if maybe my mother had given Sally Jackson her blessing…

Highly unlikely, but considering how smart she is, I would not be surprised.

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

I inwardly chuckled. She definitely felt an odd _chill_, as Percy put it.

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.**

_Men_, I thought to myself. _Stupid useless pigs, all of them._

Now, I know what you're thinking, _Oh, Annabeth! How could you know? You are far too young to know what men are like!_ However, I do have my reasons. First of all, there's my father and how he acted towards me and pretended my mother never existed. And Percy's step-father Gabe just goes to prove that men are useless pigs.

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

As if the Seaweed Brain would be the one driving.

**Like I'd be the one driving.** **I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

Don't I know the feeling… If a monster attacked me, it was never, "Annabeth! Are you okay? The monster didn't hurt you, did it?" No, it was always, "How dare you bring that horrible beast here to threaten our family!"

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair case as if he'd been shot from a canon. **

I wasn't sure whether to laugh at that, or gape at the fact that the Sea Spawn was so powerful without any training. I'm pretty sure I did a little of both, making a strange, almost panda-like bleating sound.

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, **

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed at the mental image. I absolutely hate spiders!

"Annabeth! Annabeth, are you okay?" Malcolm yelled at me from where he was making a model of the CN tower out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I told him. "The book just talks about s—s—spiders," I finished, shivering slightly at the thought of the creepy-crawlies and their long, hairy legs and beady black eyes, their sharp black pincers—I cut my thoughts off and continued reading.

—**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

**I loved the place.**

Obviously he'd love it. Sea Spawns.

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

I admit, I cooed a little when I read that part. Selena would love to hear this part of the story.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the colour of the sea.**

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

At that moment, I started wondering about something. In this chapter of the book, Percy always mentioned the colour of the food, and that colour was always blue. Why was that?

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. **

**She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop.**

Oh, well I guess that made sense, sort of.

**This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano** —**was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

Like him? Percy, Percy, Percy. Parents are born first; therefore the kids are like their parents, not the other way around. Sheesh, such a Kelp Head.

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

"**He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

That was something new. From what I've heard, most of Poseidon's children ended up looking more like the mother than the father. Interesting.

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

Sixth school in six years? My mind reeled. How could one person, demigod or not, get expelled six times in six years?

Sure, I'd been expelled from school, but only twice. And the second time was because the teacher tried eating one of my friends.

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

Oh gods, that was never a good question to ask. Most times, the godly parent, well, the males anyways, never once saw their children. And the goddesses only saw them at birth, and then send them to their mortal father.

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

Could it be? Could Lord Poseidon have gone against the ancient laws and visited Percy while he was still a baby?

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...**

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

I had to sympathize with him there. Why couldn't Zeus allow the gods to send child support checks? Maybe then Percy wouldn't have had a bad step-father, and maybe then my father wouldn't have married a normal woman and forgotten about me.

"**Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"**

My mouth dropped open to form an "O" shape. If any mother wanted to keep her child, it was Mrs. Jackson. I swear; if Percy had been beside me at the moment I read that line, I would have kicked him upside the head.

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

He'd better.

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said**.

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

Safe? I snorted. As half-bloods, we were never safe. Unless we were at camp, and even then there was a small chance we would get serious injured or could maybe even die.

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

I could understand why he would try to forget them, memories of monster attacks, especially when you didn't understand what was happening, could be a person's worst nightmares.

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

A Cyclops was stalking Percy? I wonder if maybe it was a servant of his father checking up on him.

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

This time, I'm pretty sure my mouth hit the floor. He had strangled a snake when he was a toddler, just like how Hercules had done it. Percy certainly would turn out to be a special demigod.

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

I groaned. He was such an idiot! He _needs_ to tell his mom now! Or else, it could be the death of both himself and his mother.

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

I smiled slightly at the mention of camp—the best place in the world.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

Oh no. I would bet my head that Percy ended up having a demigod dream. Those were never pleasant.

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

A horse and an eagle? Could those be representations of Zeus and Poseidon? Could they be fighting over something?

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

Could that voice be Hades, goading his brothers to fight so that they would be weak and he could take over Olympus?

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, **_**No!**_

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming; the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. **

"Hahaha!" I laughed, that was kind of ironic, considering his father was technically the ocean.

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

Monster.

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

How could it be Grover but not Grover? Unless—oh. Oh.

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—**

I chuckled at the mental image of Percy's face.

**And where his legs should be ... where his legs should be...**

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "**_**Percy**_**. Tell me **_**now**_**!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

So my assumption that Mrs. Jackson would understand everything was right. She clearly understood exactly what was happening.

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

**Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. ****There ****were cloven hooves****.**

* * *

**Thank you, Oh lovely readers for reading this chapter. **

**How many of you are exited for _"The Son of Sobek"_? I know I am! :D**

**Please review, and remember: Watch _Merlin_! Read _Harry Potter_! Read _The Kane Chronicles_! ;) **

**Thanks again guys,**

**~Jay**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hey guys! I said I'd try to get a new chapter up before the end of the month and look! I'm actually keeping that promise! :) **_

_**Thank you to every one of you who reviewed, those reviews are what keeps me motivated enough to keep writing this, no matter how slow updates may be.**_

_**Also, a quick little warning: I have the Grade 10 EQAO Literacy Test as well as my civics exam coming up, so I will be MIA at least until the end of April.**_

_**OH! Whoever recommended this to SarahWolfe16 thank you so so much! :D **_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own a single bolded word within this chapter. I also don't own any of the characters, except for Miles. **_

* * *

Quickly, I turned to the next page.

I was determined to finish the book, and the entire series, before Chiron returned to camp.

**MY MOTHER TEACHES ME BULLFIGHTING**

Bullfighting? Why would someone need to know bullfighting? Unless—no. There was no way he would send the Minotaur after a stupid, helpless Sea Spawn.

**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

**Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

I had to reread that line to be sure I wasn't hallucinating, and that my dyslexia wasn't acting up, but it wasn't. Percy had actually thought that Grover's legs were shag-carpet pants. Who in their right mind would come up with something like that?

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo — lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

Correct-o-mungo, dear Percy. Obviously it would smell like a wet barnyard animal.

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"**

**Grover's eyes flitted to the rear-view mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

I burst out laughing when I read that.

_Way to sound like a stalker_, I thought in Grover's general direction.

**"Watching me?"**

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."**

**"Urm ... what are you, exactly?"**

I groaned, knowing that Percy would ask that question, and knowing Grover would be a tad offended by that question.

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

Wincing, I remembered how Grover had whacked Luke upside the head when he'd said something similar on our way to camp.

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!"**

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

Though, irritated may be a bit of an understatement in this case.

**"Goat!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a goat from the waist down."**

**"You just said it didn't matter."**

Point Kelp for Brains, I thought to myself.

**"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

That might have been a bit harsh. Bringing up the memory of Mrs. Dodds while they were running away from another monster was probably not the best thing.

**"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

Oh, so _that_ was why they hid the truth from him.

**"Who I — wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

_Oh, nobody much. Just every single monster that comes across your scent_, I thought.

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment.** **"Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

_Well, there is that too_, I thought grimly, memories of the monsters chasing Thalia, Luke and I surfacing in my mind.

The hellhounds, the Furies, the blood, Thalia's—

I shook myself out of the memories and went back to the book.

**"Grover!"**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird. **

**My mom made a hard left. **

**We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

A slow smile crept onto my face. He was approaching the best place in the world, Camp Half-Blood.

**"Where are we going?" I asked.**

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

"Old ladies?!" I screeched, only to receive confused and worried glances from my brothers.

"Annie, are you sure you're okay?" Miles asked me, concern lacing every word.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I told him in what I thought was a confident voice.

Malcolm and Miles shared a loaded glance before Malcolm spoke up.

"Annabeth, I don't think you're fine. You didn't even react when Miles called you Annie. I don't care what you say, I'm getting Lee," he said before walking out the door.

"Mhmmm," I mumbled in agreement, still thinking about how Seaweed Brain had called the _Fates_ "old ladies."

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means — the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

I smacked my forehead—awkward Harry Potter style—in exasperation. That was a major slip on Grover's part. Now Percy would be so much more worried than he already was.

**"Whoa. You said '**_**you**_**'."**

**"No I didn't. I said '**_**someone**_**'."**

**"You meant '**_**you**_**'. As in me."**

**"I meant you, like '**_**someone**_**'. Not you, **_**you**_**."**

**"Boys!" my mom said.**

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid — a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

_What was _that_?_ I thought to myself. Obviously it wasn't the monster, since it was still behind the car.

**"What was that?" I asked.**

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

**I didn't know where there was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

As I read, I found myself doing the exact same thing.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness — the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

_Well DUH!_ I thought. Didn't her sharp talons slicing through the air and the hate in her eyes make that obvious enough?

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling **_**BOOM!**_**, and our car exploded.**

**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time. I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

**"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

**"I'm okay..."**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's side-doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

**Lightning.**

My blood ran cold.

So, not only was Lord Hades after Percy, apparently Zeus was too. What was it that Poseidon could have done to anger _both_ his bothers?

**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, **_**No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**_

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

I almost laughed when I read that. Grover hadn't changed much since we first met.

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player.**

**He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

All the blood drained from my face. I knew exactly what monster that was. I also knew that Percy had no chance at surviving if it came to a fight.

Just then, the door to the Athena cabin was flung open and Malcolm walked in, followed closely by Lee Fletcher, the head counsellor for the Apollo cabin.

"Hey Annabeth, Lee is just going to check you over, okay?" Malcolm asked me, worry glinting in his eyes.

"Fine," I said. And then realized that that meant I had to stop reading. I sighed unhappily, but got up anyway.

Lee looked me over fairly quickly. He checked my vital signs and my reflexes, he looked over my head to make sure I didn't have any head wounds, he asked me to recall everything that had happened earlier in the day and took my temperature.

Finally, he told me to go back to reading and he turned to my brothers.

"She's fine," he said. "She just seems a little distracted. That book she's reading must be good."

_Oh, if you only what it was about,_ I though before turning my attention back to the pages.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy — you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

**"What?"**

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

I closed my eyes at the waves of guilt that flowed through me.

The situation Percy was in was just too close to mine on the day we lost Thalia. If only I hadn't been so weak, if only I had been stronger. Maybe then Thalia would have survived.

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

**"Mom, you're coming too." Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

I winced, knowing exactly why Sally looked so sad. She was a mortal, and wasn't able to cross over the property line.

**"No!" I shouted. "You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands — huge meaty hands — were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns...**

Yes, Seaweed Brain, they were _horns_.

**"He doesn't want us," my mother told me. "He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**I got mad, then — mad at my mother, at Grover the goat, at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

Yes, I knew exactly what that monster was. This was so not good.

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid. Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.**

I made a mental note to ask the Demeter cabin to do something about that grass to make the trip up Half-Blood Hill easier for anyone running up it away from monsters.

**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear**

I did a double take when I read that. Underwear? As far as I knew, the Minotaur did _not_ wear underwear; he wore a leather combat kilt.

— **I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms — which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.**

**His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns - enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

I shuddered slightly at the image Percy's descriptive thoughts created in my mind.

I was actually kind of glad, though I'll never admit it out loud, that it wasn't me fighting that monster.

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.**

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

"Don't say the name!" I hissed to the book.

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said.**

My eyes widened in surprise. Even _I_ had forgotten that small tid-bit of information. Sally was the smartest mortal in the world, that was for sure.

**"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

I gaped at the book in my hands. She knew about that? How much research did she do to protect her son?

**The pine tree was still way too far — a hundred yards uphill at least.**

**I glanced behind me again.**

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows — or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

"He has bad eyesight and hearing," I said absentmindedly. "He goes by smell."

**"Food?" Grover moaned.**

**"Shh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

Wow, Mrs. Jackson had done an incredible amount of research. Maybe not all mortals were that bad…

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

**Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.**

**Oops.**

I had to laugh weakly at Percy's off-hand thought.

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way — directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

**"How do you know all this?"**

That's what I'd like to know.

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

**He'd smelled us.**

I started reading faster, my concentration winning over my dyslexia.

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter. The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.**

**My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right — it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

"Eww," I said quietly before going back to the book.

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest. The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.**

By this point, I was biting my nails in anticipation.

**So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side. The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

"No," I said my eyes widening in fear. "No, no, no. Not Grover and Sally. No, no, no."

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

Sally was brave, I'll give her that, but she was no demigod. She didn't have a chance at beating the monster. Especially not that one.

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away.**

I closed my eyes, a single tear dripping down my face for Sally Jackson.

I'd never met her, but for some reason, I felt a deep connection for her and knowing that she was about to die just made something inside of me snap.

Quickly, tears now flowing freely down my face, I turned back to the book.

**He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

**"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "**_**Go!**_**"**

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.**

"No!" I sobbed.

A small part of my mind registered the fact that Sally had disappeared in a flash of golden light, but I didn't pay any attention to it.

**"No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs — the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons. The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

No. He couldn't make Grover disappear too. That would just be way too cruel.

**I couldn't allow that. I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"What is he doing?" I mumbled quietly to myself.

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea — a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

Calling that a stupid idea was an understatement. That idea was absolutely insane! No one, not even Thalia, who was one of the most reckless demigods I'd ever met, would try that.

**But it didn't happen like that.**

Of course it didn't.

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.**

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.**

I was so surprised by that that the book fell out of my hands and hit the ground with a thud, my chin following it to the ground a second later.

How the Hades did he manage that?

Obviously Poseidon's blood was especially strong in Seaweed Brain's veins. I didn't know a single _trained _half-blood that could do that.

**How did I do that?**

**I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes.**

_The rain,_ I thought. _The rain must be giving him strength._

**The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils. The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

Yeah, I think not talking is a good idea in this situation.

**"Food!" Grover moaned.**

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel.**

So, apparently, it wasn't just the rain that was strengthening the Sea Spawn.

**I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then —**_** snap!**_

My eyes bugged out of my sockets. Did he just do what I think he did?

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

So he _had_ broken the horn right off the Minotaur's head. My mouth was hitting the floor again.

**The monster charged.**

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage**

_Impressive_, I thought to myself. It seemed like Percy had good instincts, something that was great to have when you're a demigod.

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate — not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

**The monster was gone.**

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief.**

I wouldn't blame him. I'd be scared if he weren't trembling with grief.

**I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm house. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover — I wasn't going to let him go.**

I smiled weakly through my shock and grief. Percy might be the son of my mother's rival, but he was loyal and had a good heart.

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.**

The man had to be Chiron, but who was the girl?

I twirled my hair around my finger, deep in the thought, until a glimmer of gold caught my eye. Looking down, I noticed something. _I _had curled blond hair.

But he couldn't mean me, could he? After all, I was a daughter of Athena, so I definitely wasn't anything like a princess, and I didn't think I was very pretty. No, he must have seen one of the Aphrodite or Demeter girls.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

Annabeth? So it _was _me he had seen.

It took a few moments for that realization to sink in, but when it finally did, I'm not exactly proud of what I did.

I fell off of my bed, landing painfully on the floor with a _thunk_, and I threw the book as far away from me as possible.

Which really wasn't that far since I threw it under my bed and it hit the wall before it could get more than three feet away from me.

I climbed back on my bed, mumbling something along the lines of, "There's no way that it's actually me. Annabeth is a common enough name, right? And blond curly hair isn't that rare. No, it can't have been me. There's no way."

Instead of thinking it over like a good child of the Wisdom goddess should, I acted much more like a Sea Spawn and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you so much for reading! **_

_**Please drop a review, or if you just want to chat, send me a PM and I'll gladly respond! :)**_

_**Remember: Watch: **_**Merlin**_**! Read: **_**Harry Potter**_**! and **_**The Kane Chronicles**_**!**_

_**Well that's it from me, see ya next chapter,**_

_**~Jay**_

_**P.S.: OMG! Spring has finally arrived! The 3ft of snow outside is finally melting! :)**_

_**OH! HAPPY EASTER! Or for all the PJO fans ;), Happy Rebirth Day To Bacchus! :3**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hey guys! As promised, here, is the new chapter! **__** Yay! xD**_

_**For those of you wondering, my exam and tests and the EQAO Literacy all went well. I think Athena might have helped me a bit on the exam, since the day of it, I walked into civics class and knew absolutely nothing. And then, when I looked down at the exam, I suddenly knew the answers! :O I ended up with a 91% on that, and on my two math tests I got 100%, so I'm not getting a math tutor and I get to keep my laptop! Hallelujah! ;)**_

_**Thank you so much for all your reviews. We've passed the 50 review mark! :D :D Thank you guys so much! :D Blue chocolate chip cookies for everyone! :D :D Guest review responses are at the bottom! **_

_**This chapter is dedicated to a very special person, the very first person to ever read this story. Thank you so much! And….**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY YAOYAN! :D :D :D :D **_

_**I hope you like this chapter! **_

_**Oh yeah, for this chapter, **_**BOLD **_**is what is written in the book, **_NORMAL _**is AnnabIeth's thoughts, and **__ITALIC __**when Annabeth is dreaming. Her dream is from the third person. Basque in the awesomeness of her dream. ;3**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. It all belongs to Rick Riordan! Except for Miles. :3**_

* * *

"_Annabeth!" a male voice yelled._

"_Shhh!" Annabeth said, her invisible hand clamping down over the guys mouth, and she wrestled him down behind a big bronze cauldron. "You want to get us killed?"_

_Somehow, the boy managed to find her head and he took off her Yankees cap. Annabeth's form shimmered into existence, scowling, her face streaked with ash and grime. "Percy, what is your problem?"_

"_We're going to have company!" Percy exclaimed. "There's a bunch of young half seal, half dog monsters__— __telekhines, I think__— __in an orientation class. They're working for Kronos. Oh, and I may of alerted them to my presence, and they might just be coming this way, like, right now." Annabeth's eyes widened._

"_So that's what they are," she said. "Telekhines. I should've known. And they're making… Well, look."_

_They both peeked over the cauldron. In the centre of the platform stood four sea demons, fully grown, each at least eight feet tall. Their black skin glistened in the firelight as they worked, sparks flying as they took turns hammering on a long piece of glowing metal._

"_The blade is almost complete," one said. "It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."_

"_Aye," a second said. "It shall be even sharper than before."_

"_What _is_ that?" Percy whispered._

_Annabeth shook her head. "They keep talking about fusing metals. I wonder__—__"_

"_They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon," Percy said. "And they…they said they made my father's trident."_

"_The telekhines betrayed the gods," Annabeth said. "They were practicing dark magic. I don't know what, exactly, but Zeus banished them to Tartarus."_

"_With Kronos."_

_She nodded. "We have to get out__—__"_

_No sooner had she said that that than the door to the classroom exploded and young telekhines came pouring out. They stumbled over each other, trying to figure out which way to charge._

"_Put your cap back on," Percy said. "Get out!"_

"_What?" Annabeth shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you."_

"_I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider__—__maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."_

"_But you'll be killed!" Annabeth cried, desperation ringing clear in her voice._

"_I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."_

_Annabeth glared at Percy like she was going to punch him. Then, she did something even more surprising. She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him._

"_Be careful, Seaweed Brain." She put her cap on her head and vanished. She ran out of the centre of the volcano, following the spider once more, with tears streaming down her face._

_HJC_

_Suddenly, Annabeth was standing on the slope of Half-Blood Hill. _

_Percy and a woman with soft brown hair, most likely Sally, his mother, were running up the side of the hill that touched the road, Grover draped over their shoulders._

_Sally suddenly transferred all of Grover's weight onto her own shoulders and told Percy to separate._

_Annabeth watched helplessly, like a ghost witnessing the murder of a friend, as the monster bore down on the young boy._

_Percy held his ground until the last second, and the beast barreled past._

_Then the Minotaur turned towards Sally. She was just putting Grover down, and she started slowly backing away from him and back to the road. _

_The monster charged at her, and she tried dodging the way her son had, but it didn't work._

_Annabeth watched on in horror as Sally was lifted off of the ground by a huge meaty hand._

_She watched Percy's knees buckle, watched the tears of grief streaming down his face mix with the rain as his cry was lost in the sudden wind._

_The Minotaur started closing his fist and Sally desperately said one last word. _

"_Go!"_

_Then, she vanished in a rapid and blinding golden flash._

_Annabeth gaped. Sally hadn't died. _

_That was metamorphosis. _

_Hades had captured her._

_Quietly, Annabeth vowed to run all the way to the Underworld if she had to. She _would_ save Seaweed Brain's mom, no matter what._

_HJC_

I jerked awake in my bed, nearly hitting my head on Miles' face.

"Whoa!" he said. "Oh, hey Annie, you're awake."

"Uh?" I said intelligently. "Why were you watching me sleep? And don't call me Annie!"

"No need to get feisty!" he said jokingly. "I came by to make sure you were okay. You were mumbling something about telekhines and spiders, and just now you said something about running to the Underworld to save Seaweed Brain's mother, I think. It wasn't making any sense, so I came to check on you and you were sleeping with a determined smile on your face. Care to share?" He smiled at me cheekily. I glared.

"No, I don't even know what all that was about." A small part of my brain, however, was thinking about all that I had dreamed.

Could I be developing a crush on the Seaweed Brain before I even met him?

"Sure you don't," Miles said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "If you don't want to talk about this new crush of yours,"—I blushed a deep crimson and Miles smiled goofily—"then you could have just said something instead of glaring at me."

He shook his head at me and walked back over to his own bed and pulled out an archaeology book.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was just barely after three o'clock.

I took a deep breath and climbed off of my bed. I dropped onto my hands and knees before spreading out onto my stomach and stretching my right arm forward. With three fingers, I managed to grasp the book and dragged it out from under my bed.

I inhaled deeply again and opened it up to the fourth chapter.

**I PLAY PINOCHLE WITH A HORSE**

I smirked at the chapter title, knowing full well that Chiron would _not_ appreciate to be called a horse.

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

I raised one eyebrow, questioning Percy's sanity slightly.

**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again.**

I blushed, remembering that that was exactly what I'd done a few hours back.

**I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding.**

**The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

Summer solstice? What was I talking about?

**I managed to croak, "What?"**

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would over hear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

Stolen? Something was stolen?

I thought about it for a moment and remembered that something in the title of the book had to do with a theft.

"_The Lightning Thief,_" I mumbled, realization dawning on me.

Zeus' master bolt had been stolen!

This was not good. This was _so_ not good.

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

The corners of my mouth quirked upwards again. That was definitely the best way to get someone to stop talking.

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone. A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes — at least a dozen of them — on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

That must really have been a shock for Percy. I still remembered the first time I'd seen Argus…

Let's just say it didn't exactly end well.

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries.**

I smiled a real, genuine smile. He was gazing at the Camp.

**There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry. My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

**"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, not the goat boy.**

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And...**

I winced slightly, knowing that Grover was most likely about to ruin Percy's idea of denial. The poor kid had just lost his mother.

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I ... well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

"No," I said softly. "Unfortunately, it was as real as night and day."

**"The Minotaur," I said.**

I winced again. It wasn't a good idea, even at camp, to use the names of the gods and the monsters.

**"Um, Percy, it isn't a good idea—"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really ..."**

**He looked down.**

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

I sighed, a tear dripping out of my eye again.

That had been a surprisingly deep thought for a Sea Spawn. It was also extremely depressing and it brought back the memory of one of my dreams.

I could see it all happening before my eyes again. Sally being squeezed by the Minotaur, Percy lying on the ground, anguish written clearly on his face as he lost his only parent.

And, I admit, after that one dream, I felt a little guilty that I hadn't been there to help Percy and make sure his mom was safe too.

**He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off.**

**I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

"Language Grover!" I mumbled to myself, shaking my head slightly.

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky. As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it. Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head.**

**But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even Minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light. I was alone. An orphan.**

Though neither of us were technically orphans, I had to agree with Percy. Without a mortal parent you can rely on, it does feel like you're an orphan. I knew from experience.

**I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe? No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. I'd do something.**

Oh, he would do something all right. Like stay at camp and learn how to fight monsters.

And, possibly go on a quest to save his mother.

Or to find a certain uncle's symbol of power.

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid — poor goat, satyr, whatever **

I snickered slightly at that. I'm sure Grover would just _love_ that description.

— **looked as if he expected to be hit.**

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you."**

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."**

**"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

I laughed quietly. Of course, even thinking was too much for a simple Sea Spawn.

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said.**

**"Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

**I recoiled at the taste,**

Why would he do _that_? The glass contained nectar, and though it could be fatal if too much was consumed, it was the most delicious drink in the world.

—**because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies.**

Oh, well I guess recoiling makes sense then.

**And not just any cookies — my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

I smiled slightly. That was a memory I wished I could have had of my step-mom, instead of all the yelling and fighting and screaming I had associated with her.

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

Obviously.

**I nodded.**

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

My eyes widened.

I don't think that would have ended well at all. At least, not for Grover.

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Home made."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

That was…good, I guess. Though, looking back on the first chapter, she definitely deserved to be thrown a hundred yards.

**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

And I smiled widely, knowing exactly what he'd see.

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture, an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena, except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

Yes, Percy, they do have wings. Selena was especially good at riding them. Most of the Athena cabin on the other hand… We weren't so great. Must be one of those parent rivalry things. Whenever we got on one, Selena or one of the other Aphrodite campers had to take at least ten minutes to reassure the horse or pegasus that we wouldn't hurt it, or that we weren't evil.

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them. The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels — what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.**

I lost all sense of cool I had left at that moment and laughed so hard I fell off of my bed, face planting on the floor.

I wonder how Mr. D would like being compared to that?

Snickering, I continued reading while climbing back into my bed, completely missing the worried glances my brothers were shooting me.

**He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step-father.**

Yes, yes he definitely could have out gambled Gabe, the dollop head.

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

I blanched slightly, almost having forgotten about where Chiron had spent the school year.

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.**

That was actually pretty clever. That would make the students check over their work and question themselves once they realized that every answer was a B.

**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

I snorted. Typical Mr. D.

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

That was a good observation. It took me a few days to realize Mr. D wasn't getting any wine.

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. **

I glared stonily at the book. My eyes were not ugly or whatever Kelp Face was going to say.

**They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

Oh. _That's_ what he meant.

**She glanced at the Minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, **_**You killed a Minotaur!**_** or **_**Wow, you're so awesome!**_** or something like that. **

I snorted. Someone was feeling a little arrogant today.

**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

I laughed full out after I read what I'd said.

That must have embarrassed the Hades out of him!

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?"**

I smacked my hand to my forehead. How many times did Percy need to be told that names have power?

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner ****—**

I raised an eyebrow at that. Only Percy would think to say, "Chiron-Brunner".

— **broke in,** **"I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence."**

I wondered, uselessly, what Chiron had said and/or done to convince the other Latin teacher to leave.

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

"Ego alert," I mumbled quietly to myself.

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

I winced slightly thinking about the day Luke and I had passed the first test while Thalia hadn't. A slow, silent tear trailed absently down my cheek.

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.**

If only he knew, then he'd understand why Grover was so afraid.

**"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

**"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

Weren't we all? I swear, having Mr. D for a camp director is worse for us than it is for Mr. D.

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun — Chiron — why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

I had wondered the same, up until I realized who exactly Percy's father was.

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

**The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile. Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, **_**I**_** was his star student. He expected **_**me**_** to have the right answer.**

I shook my head slightly. Chiron was putting so much pressure on Percy's shoulders, even though he doesn't know it.

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

**"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

I glared at the book, imagining it was Mr. D's head, for saying those incentive words so soon after Percy lost his mother.

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

I gasped. He didn't get to see the orientation film? Poor Percy. He was going to be so confused for the first little while. Everything about our world was explained in there.

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know—" he pointed to the horn in the shoe box — "that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods — the forces you call the Greek gods — are very much alive."**

"They never died," I stated quietly.

**I stared at the others around the table. I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

No, not God. _Gods_, the ancient Greek gods to be exact.

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God — capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about—"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

My eyebrows rose considerably. If Zeus had heard that comment, I really wouldn't want to be Chiron.

**"Smaller?"**

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

My head dropped into my hands again. Did this kid not listen to anyone? How many times does he need to be told not to use names?

**And there it was again, distant thunder on a cloudless day.**

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

I shook my head. At the heart of every myth there is some truth. Did he think Mrs. Dodds was a myth? The Fates? Were they just myths?

**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson" — I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody — "what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals — they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

Gee, wonder why that would be? Maybe because the camp director isn't mortal?

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

And having to watch everyone you love and care for die.

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some day people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

My mouth dropped open, forming an 'O' shape. That was way below the belt.

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

My eyes widened in fear for Percy's life.

And then I thought about it. There was no way Mr. D would do that. No, wait. If a demigod made him mad enough, he would do that with pleasure.

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe."**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.**

I rolled my eyes. Mr. D didn't change at all.

**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

Old habits my Yankees invisibility cap. Mr. D was probably just testing his limits to see if anyone would notice he had a goblet full of wine.

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke.**

**He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

I chuckled lightly. Ah, if only he'd seen the orientation video. Then he'd understand so much more about what was going on.

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time — well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away — the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. '**_**Be a better influence**_**,' he told me. '**_**Work with youths rather than tearing them down**_**.' Ha. Absolutely unfair."**

"Yeah. For _us!_" I yelled suddenly, making Miles, who was still in the room, jump two feet in the air.

"Geez-um, Annabeth! You scared me half way to Tartarus! Who are you yelling at?"

"Oh, um, nothing," I lied.

"Uh-huh. Of course you are." Miles said, rolling his eyes. "Annie, I really don't think that book is any good for your health. It's making you have weird dreams, it's made you clumsy, it's made you yell out random comments and burst out laughing. And worst of all, it's affected your lying skills."

I glared stonily at my older brother. "I'm perfectly fine!" I snapped. "_And don't call me Annie!_"

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

I made a point of laughing loudly, just to annoy Miles.

**"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

**"**_**Di immortales**_**, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

No, really? Don't you think the goblet of wine kind of gave that away?

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

I knew exactly how Percy felt at that moment. Mr. D looked nothing like you'd imagine a god would look.

**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

Well, he is the patron god of madness.

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

**"No. No, sir."**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher.**

That he was. He had only won against Chiron once. But that didn't really count since it was the summer where the Aphrodite cabin had decided to give everyone makeovers and had accidentally turned Chiron into Chiron-_a_ and put him (her) in a prom dress.

**He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

I was back to glaring at the book. Grover did a really good job on his assignment, and it wasn't his fault that the Lord of the Dead was in full attack mode and his target was Percy.

**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

"Not anymore," I mumbled.

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in America?"**

Obviously. Why would there be a camp to train demigods in _America_ if the gods weren't in America?

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

**"The what?"**

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know — or as I hope you know, since you passed my course — the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps — Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on — but the same forces, the same gods."**

**"And then they died."**

Seaweed Brain. What didn't he understand by the word _immortal_? Immortal means the gods can't die. They can fade, or be captured and have their essences spread apart so thinly they can't ever reform, but they can't simply die.

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not — and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either — America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.**

No, not a club. Percy, you are part of so much more than that.

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?"**

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

I giggled, knowing exactly what Chiron was going to do.

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be smores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

I don't think 'adore' was a strong enough word for that. Chiron loves chocolate more than Remus Lupin in Harry Potter did.

As soon as I thought about that, I began to wonder. If there were books about us and our adventures, then maybe the Harry Potter books were written about a real story? Maybe all of that really _did_ happen.

I mentally scolded myself. Of course those books weren't real. There was no such thing as a wizard, at least not the king in the harry Potter books.

**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear,****—**

I gave the book a weird look, reread the line, reread it again and then started choking, I was laughing so hard. White Velvet underwear? Hysterical! Percy would be a wonder to have on a quest. There would never be a boring moment if this was really what his thoughts were like.

— **but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.**

**I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

Oh, and that meeting was sure to be interesting, to say the least. I wonder what Clarisse would do…

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you all for reading! **_

_**Guest Reviews:**_

_**Katrinaaaa: Haha, well I updated ;) Thanks for the review and for being so enthusiastic for a new update! **_

_**Guest (the one who reviewed at 11:00pm on March 31**__**st**__**): Really? It's not like any others? :D :D Thanks for the review and voici your update ;)**_

_**Rex: Thanks! I'm glad you liked that chapter! And that you think my story is great! :') Well, hopefully you liked this chapter just as much as the others!**_

_**Guest (The one that reviewed at 11:23pm on March 31**__**st**__**): Aww :') Thank you so much! To tell you the truth, I don't know how I do it either. It must be the King of Awesome lending me some of his awesomeness powers! xD Here's the new chapter! **_

_**Thank you all so much for reading and please, oh please, review! And wish Yaoyan a happy birthday! **_

_**~Jay**_


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